Toilet seat lifter



April 5, 1955 R. R. KNUDSEN 2,705,330 TOILET SEAT LIFTER Filed July 20, 1949 2 ShetS-Sheet l IN VEN TOR.

vApril 1955 R. R. KNUDSEN 2,705,330

TOILET SEAT LIFTER Filed July 20, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I/Z/H //J INVENTOR. 6 fiC/zarcZ/Zme/Z United States Patent TOILET SEAT LIFTER Richard R. Knudsen, Chicago, Ill. Application July 20, 1949, Serial No. 105,731

8 Claims. (Cl. 4-251) This invention relates generally to water closets or toilets and more particularly to an improved sanitary, foot actuated seat lifter intended primarily for use in conjunction with water closets.

Many persons dislike to touch either the hinged cover or seat on water closets with their hands, particularly in public toilets. As a result of this almost universal antipathy, numerous devices for lifting the covers and seats have been provided heretofore. The prior devices, however, have not come into very wide use, for in the main they have been cumbersome and difficult to install on existing water closets and to keep clean once installed.

The manually operated lifters where a hand lever has been provided have not met with success for many persons also dislike to touch hand levers. Most of the foot actuated devices have employed pedals which were pivoted on brackets attached to the floor. This made installation and cleaning very difficult.

One object of this invention is to provide a foot actuated seat lifter for water closets which may be readily installed on existing toilets or which may be incorporated with either the bowl or seat assembly during manufacture.

Another object is to provide a foot actuated seat lifter which is supported solely on the toilet bowl in such position as to be unlikely to become dirty and so as to be readily accessible and easy to keep clean and sanitary.

Another object is to provide a simple seat lifter apparatus which may be used to either raise or lower the seat as desired, without the need for any manual handling of the seat whatever.

A further object is to provide a seat lifter apparatus which does not interfere with the normal manual opera tion of the seat or cover so that the two may be manually moved in the normal manner independently of the lifter mechanism by persons who are not familiar with the device or do not desire to use it.

A further object is to provide an apparatus which can be installed on a wide variety of models of water closets without the need for special parts and which may be readily modified for mounting on either the right or left-hand side of the bowl.

A further object is to provide an apparatus which may be used to move the seat on water closets which are equipped with both a seat and hinged cover as well as those which have only a seat, the apparatus being adapted to lift the seat and cover and to lower the seat alone without manual contact in those models provided with both so that the water closet can be adjusted at will to have the cover lifted and the seat lowered.

Other objects and advantages of the apparatus of this invention will present themselves to those familiar with the art on reading the following specification in conjunction with the drawings and the appended claims.

The seat lifter apparatus of this invention is characterized by a housing which is mounted on the rear of the closet bowl having a depending foot pedal which extends forwardly to an accessible position at the side of the bowl and a rotatable arm driven by the pedal, the arm extending forwardly underneath the seat to force same upwardly as it rotates when the pedal is pressed.

Three embodiments of this invention are illustrated in the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a water closet provided with a preferred embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the gear housing with the side removed to show the internal arrangement;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged front view showing the mounting bracket arrangement;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modified embodiment; and

Fig. 6 is a front view of a modified embodiment of the gear housing with the cover removed showing the gear arrangement.

The preferred form of seat lifter 10 comprises a gear housing 11, a springable foot lever 12, a seat lifter arm 13, and a seat bumper and lowering arm 14. The entire assembly is supported by an offset bracket 15 which is secured to the flanged rear portion 16 at the toilet bowl 17.

The lower end of the bracket 15, whose shape is best shown in Fig. 4, is drilled as indicated at 18 in Fig. 3 to receive the studs 20 (Fig. 1) which extend downwardly from the conventional seat and cover supporting brackets 21 provided on the water closet 22.

These brackets 21, which are used in practically all conventional water closets, support a crossbar 23 about which the seat 24 and cover 25 are pivoted, suitable bearing brackets 26 and 27 being provided to which the seat and cover, respectively, are attached.

The offset bracket 15 which carries the seat lifter 10 is easily attached to the toilet bowl 17 by unscrewing the nuts 28 from the studs 20, lifting the seat and cover assembly, slipping the studs 20 through the holes 18 in the bracket and rebolting the seat assembly in place. If desired, the bracket 15 may be shortened and attached only to one of the studs 20. When this is done a spacer washer (not shown) having the same thickness as the bracket 15 may be used on the stud 20 on the opposite side to maintain the two sides of the seat assembly at the same level.

The gear housing 11 is mounted on the upper end of the offset bracket 15, a flat internal projection 30 on the side of the housing 11 being provided to which the bracket 15 is bolted. If desired, the bracket may be formed integrally with the housing, as shown in Fig. 4 but the separate form of construction is preferred, for the height of the housing may be varied by bolting the projection 30 to either the top or bottom side of the bracket 15. When the lifter 10 is to be mounted on water closets where the seat 24 is relatively high off the top of the bowl 17, its effectiveness is increased by mounting the housing 11 in the higher position to raise the height of the lifter arm 13. The two-piece form of construction also makes it possible to mount the lifter 10 on either the 1right or left-hand side of the toilet 17, as will be described ater.

Since all the elements of the lifter 10 are carried by the housing 11, installation is quite simply accomplished and may be effected by untrained persons without the need for special parts or tools. The adjustment of the parts for most efficient operation, as will be described later, is equally easy.

The foot lever 12 is provided with a pedal 32 at the lower end and an enlarged hub 33 at the upper end. The hub 33 is drilled and internally splined so as to be adjustably mounted on a shaft 34 which projects outwardly through the sides of the gear housing 11. The shaft 34 is preferably formed integrally with a segment gear 35 within the housing 11 and projects outwardly through the opposite side thereof to support the seat lowering arm 14. The pedal 32 is preferably provided with a nonskid rubber, foot-engaging pad 39. The bottom of the pad 39 is provided with a button 36 which projects through a hole (not shown) in the pedal 32 to secure the pad to the pedal 32 and also to provide a floor bumper to check downward motion of the lever 12;.

The segment gear 35 engages and drives a small pinion gear 37 journalled in the housing 11. The shaft 38 of this gear projects throuhg the wall of the housing 11 and has the lifter arm 13 fastened thereto. In the resting position this arm extends forwardly, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 1, beneath the seat 24 to engage the bottom thereof. Thus, when the pedal 32 is depressed, the segment gear 35 is caused to move downwardly, rotating the pinion 37 and raising the end of the arm 13 to lift the seat 24 and cover 25.

The seat bumper and lowering arm 14, being fixed to the same shaft 34 as the foot le'ver, rotates with the foot lever. This arm comprises a hub 41 and curved rod whose upper end supports a rubber button 40. The hub 41 has a boss thereon which is drilled to reecive the end of the rod, the boss being disposed to one side of the shaft 34 to permit the end of the rod to extend beyond the shaft. A setscrew 42 holds the rod firmly in place, but by loosening the setscrew the length of the arm and the vertical as well as the rotative position in a horizontal plane of the rubber button 40 may be varied so as to cause the seat to be engaged at dilferent points. By varying the angular position of the hub 41 with respect to the shaft 34, which variation is made possible by the spline engagement, the angular position of the rubber button 40 in the vertical plane may be varied.

The operation of this embodiment to raise and lower the seat 24 is as follows: With the seat 24 and cover 25 in the lowered position, the various elements occupy the positions shown in solid lines in Figs. 1 to 4. To raise the seat 24, the user places his foot on the pedal 32, pressing it downwardly to the floor. This causes the gear 35 to rotate the pinion 37, driving the arm 13 to raise the seat 24 to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 1. Simultaneously, the arm 14 moves forwardly with the lever 12 until the button 40 engages the top of the seat 24 which has been raised by the upward force exerted by the lifter arm 13. Thus, the seat 24 is held firmly between the two arms 13 and 14. The cover 25 is carried along with the seat 24. This is the action when the pedal 32 is depressed at a moderate or slow rate of speed.

To lower the seat 24 and cover 25, the user merely removes his foot, allowing the pedal 32 to rise, and gravity carries the seat 24 and cover 25 down to the lowered position again.

To raise the cover 25 only, the user presses the pedal 32 at a slightly greater speed. The seat and cover then travel upwardly ahead of the arm 13. If the pedal 32 is held on the floor for a brief interval at the completion of the stroke, the cover 25 will travel beyond the seat 24, the center of gravity of the cover 25 passing over its pivot point so that the cover 25 remains upright in a stable position. This occurs because the button 40 on the arm 14 engages the seat at an angle slightly less than vertical, and prevents its moving farther rearwardly, and, since only the seat 24 is engaged, the cover 25 is still free ,to move due to its momentum. The user then removes his foot from the pedal 32 and allows the seat 24 to drop. The cover 25, however, remains up, and will remain so until manually nudged forwardly so that it can fall again.

To raise both the seat 24 and cover 25 and have them remain up, the pedal 32 is given a rapid downward tap but is not pressed all the way to the floor. The resiliency of the lever causes the seat and cover to move rapidly upwardly and carry over center to a stable position resting against the water tank or conventional stop (not shown). During the last portion of its travel, the seat 24 engages the button 40 to move the arm 14 and hold the pedal 32 slightly olf the floor.

When it is desired to lower the seat, the pedal 32 is depressed fully, causing the arm 14 to move forward again and force the seat 24 to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 1. The pedal 32 is then released and the seat 24 moves downwardly by gravity, its force raising the pedal 32 to the fully raised position.

Although the foregoing may seem somewhat complicated as described, he operation is actually extremely simple even for users who are unfamiliar with the lifter. Most persons are able to position the seat and cover as desired after two or three tries and, once they have the knack, are able to position the seat as desired on the first attempt. Of course, no knack at all is required to simply raise both the seat and cover by steady pressure and lower them by releasing the foot pedal. This is the most frequent mode of using the lifter.

A particular advantage of the lifter is that it in no way interferes with the normal operation of manually raising and lowering the seat and cover in the event a person unfamiliar with the device is using the water closet, for both the seat and cover may be moved freely when the pedal is in the raised position.

In the embodiment illustrated, the parts are so balanced that the weight of the seat is sufiicient to raise the foot lever 12 to the starting position as the seat falls and also to raise the pedal 32 slightly off the floor when the seat is in the stable raised position. Should the balance not be such, however, a light spring may be used to overcome the weight of the pedal and foot lever assembly. This spring may be on either of the shafts 34 or 38, or may be located within the housing 11 to bear upwardly on the side of the segment gear 35. I prefer, however, to maintain the balance as described above, and to use a lightweight rod for the lever 12. This use of a light rod results in additional resiliency, which aids in the operation, as described above.

The preferred procedure to adjust the lifter 10 on installation is as follows: When the housing is attached to the toilet bowl 17, the seat 24 and lifter arm 13 are raised together until the seat assumes an angle of about 85. The foot lever 12 is then mounted on the shaft 34 so that the pedal 32 rests on the floor. The pedal 32 is held on the floor, and the lowering arm 14 is mounted with the button '40 contacting the seat 24 but clearing the cover 25. The adjustment is then complete, and it is virtually impossible to damage the lifter by improper operation such as stamping on the foot pedal 32 with excessive force, for the downward travel thereof is limited by the floor. Furthermore, the resiliency of the foot lever rod 12 permits some reverse motion of the lowering arm 14 and gear train as the seat 24 strikes the button 40. If desired, the arm 14 may also be constructed so as to be resilient to give further protection.

To mount the lifter 10 on the opposite side of the toilet bowl 17, the bracket 15 is reversed so that the upper end projects from the opposite side. The gear housing 11 is inverted so that the lifter arm 13 is on the inside. The arm 13 is removed and reversed on the shaft 38 and refastened so as to project underneath the seat 24. The foot lever 12 and lowering arm 14 are on the same ends of the shaft 34 for the shaft is reversed, but they extend in the opposite direction. The adjustment procedure is the same as described above.

This feature of reversability is quite advantageous, for the lifter 10 may be mounted on the side of the toilet where it is most likely to be visible or accessible, and two different models need not be carried in stock.

The modification shown in Fig. 5 is substantially the same as the preferred embodiment except that the seat lowering arm 14 is eliminated and a spring clip 45 attached to the cover 25 is substituted therefor. The shaft 34 instead of extending on both sides of the housing 11a is journalled on one side in a blind hole (not shown). The adjustment differs in that the foot lever is so mounted as to throw the lifter arm 13 beyond the vertical when the pedal 32 is pressed against the floor.

The operation of this modification 10a is somewhat different. To raise the seat 24 and cover 25 the foot pedal 32 is depressed as in the preferred embodiment. If the pedal 32 is pressed slowly to a position just off the floor, the seat 24 and cover 25 rise to the position shown in Fig. 1 and fall back down when the pedal 32 is released. The pedal position just off the floor may be determined by the projection 36 on the underside of the pad 39 if the projection is resilient and sizable. Thus, light foot pressure raises the seat 24 to the position shown, from which it will fall back down of its own weight when the pedal 32 is released.

If the pedal 32 is pressed hard, the seat and cover are forced over center to remain upright, the seat resting against the spring clip 45. To lower the seat from this position the user presses down still harder on the pedal 32 to compress the spring clip 45 and then releases the pedal 32 suddenly. The resilience of the clip 45 then causes the seat 24 to fly forwardly over center and fall to the lower position.

The spring clip 45 is shaped to fit over the edge of the cover 25, the end portion 46 being U-shaped to follow the contour of the cover 25. The free end is preferably bent inwardly to contact the bottom surface at the cover 25 to provide additional resiliency and so as not to project in such manner that a person can catch his clothing thereon. When the cover 25 is lowered, it assumes the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 5. Should the user desire to sit upon it, his weight will compress the clip 45, permitting the cover to rotate to a level position.

In some instances it has proved desirable to use a coil or other type of spring instead of the spring clip 45. This spring may be attached either to the cover or to a stationary element such as the top of the housing 11 or the water tank, in such manner as to miss the cover 25 and engage the seat 24.

In the event that the modified embodiment is to be used on coverless water closets, the spring 45, or its equivalent, is mounted on a fixed member to engage the seat 24. From the foregoing it will be appreciated that both the preferred and the modified embodiment may be used on coverless types of water closets.

The modified form b shown in Fig. 6 illustrates a different form of gear housing 11b and gear train. Instead of a single pair of gears, three pairs 47 are used. The housing 11b is disposed vertically rather than horizontally so that its thickness may be reduced. The two halves of the housing 11b are identical.

It will be noted that the axes of rotation of the lifter arm 13b and the foot lever 12b lie in the same vertical plane. Because of this the embodiment 10b has proved particularly useful on those models of water closets in which the water tank is mounted so close to the bowl that suflicient room for the preferred embodiment is not available. The operation of this embodiment is substantially identical with that of the modification shown in Fig. 5.

Various changes or modifications may be made in any of the above described embodiments without departing from the invention. For example, the seat lowering arm 14 may be attached to the upper end of the hub 33 in the preferred embodiment, or this arm may be adjusted so as to urge the cover downwardly instead of only the seat. When this is done, the seat can be manually nudged downwardly when desired.

Similarly, the lifter can be modified to actuate the cover alone, the shape of the lifter arm 13 being such that it projects between the cover and seat. In some instances it has proved desirable to provide two lifter assemblies, one on each side of the toilet. One assembly is used to actuate the seat alone, and the other to actuate the cover alone. Because of the novel lost motion form of construction wherein the seat and cover may be lifted independently of the mechanism, neither interferes with the action of the other and fully automatic operation even to the extent of lowering the cover is achieved.

Other changes, such as will present themselves to those familiar with the art, may be made without departing from the scope of the invention which is commensurate with the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a water closet having a seat hinged to swing in a vertical direction about a horizontal axis, a cover hinged to swing in a vertical direction about the same axis and adapted to rest upon and move with said seat when both are in their lowered position, said cover and seat being movable from said lowered position to a raised position slightly past vertical, the combination of a housing mounted at the rear of the water closet, a foot actuated means mounted on the housing to move between limits, a gear train in said housing driven by sa1d means, a lifter arm journalled on said housing and driven by said gear train to contact said seat and raise the seat to a vertical position, a lowering arm journalled on said housing and driven by said means to contact said seat and move said seat from its raised position, said arms moving towards each other in directions to engage said seat when actuation of said foot means is sustained.

2. In a water closet having a seat hinged for movement about a horizontal axis from a lowered horizontal position to a raised position past vertical, the combination of a housing mounted at the rear of the water closet, manually operated means mounted on the housing for movement between lirnits, a gear train in said housing driven by said means, a lifter arm carried on said housing and driven by said gear train to engage and raise the seat to a vertical position, a lowering arm journalled on said housing and driven by said means to engage said seat and move said seat from its raised position to a horizontal position, said manually operated means being raised from one of its limits by the weight of said seat in both its raised and lowered positions through engagement with said lowering arm and raising arm, respectively, at said posittons.

3. In a water closet having a bowl and a seat hinged to swing from a horizontal lowered position to a raised position slightly past vertical, the combination of a housing supported on the bowl, a treadle pivoted on the housing for limited movement, a gear train in said housing actuated by said treadle, an arm carried by said housing and rotated by said gearing to engage the seat in its lowered position and move it to its raised position, a second arm carried by said housing and rotated by said treadle to engage said seat in its raised position and move it in the direction of lowering it, said arms moving in opposite directions when said treadle is actuated.

4. In a water closet having a bowl and a seat hinged its lowered position, a 'second arm carried by said housing and rotated by said treadle engaged by said seat as it approaches its raised position, said arms moving in opposite directions when said treadle is actuated.

5. The combination with a closet bowl comprising an integral ceramic receptacle having a horizontal seat flange provided with two bracket mounting holes, hinge brackets including bolts anchored in said holes, a toilet seat hinged on said brackets, another bracket mounted at the rear of the water closet, a housing carried by said other bracket, a gear train journalled in said housing, an operating lever rotatably mounted on the housing to drive said gear train and extending downwardly and forwardly thereof for foot operation, a lifting lever carried on said housing and driven by said gear train to engage and raise the seat to a vertical position, a lowering arm driven by said operating lever and contacting the seat when the seat is in its raised position to start the seat towards its lowered position when the operating lever is actuated, said lifting lever extending beneath said toilet seat to be engaged by the seat to lower it from its upright position when foot actuation of the operating lever is relaxed.

6. The combination with a closet bowl comprising an integral ceramic receptacle having a horizontal seat flange provided with two bracket mounting holes, hinge brackets including bolts anchoring said brackets in said holes, a toilet seat hinged on said brackets, a housing adapted to receive said bracket bolts in supported .relationship on said seat flange, a gear train journalled in said housing ineluding a drive and a driven shaft, an operating lever connected to the drive shaft and extending downwardly and forwardly for foot actuation, a lifting lever connected to the driven shaft to engage and raise the seat from its lowered position to an upright position when said operating lever is actuated, and a lowering arm eonneeted to said drive shaft and engaged by said toilet seat when the latter is raised to its upright position, said lowering arm cushioning the movement of the seat in the direction of its raised position as foot actuation of said operating lever is relaxed, said lowering arrn moving said seat in a return direction when said operating lever is again actuated.

7. A seat lifter attachment for installation upon a water closet bowl having a seat hinged thereto for movement from a lowered position to a raised position comprising a housing, a gear train in the housing having a drive shaft and a driven shaft, bracket means carrying said housing so constructed and arranged as to be mounted on a closet bowl, an operating lever connected to the drive shaft, a lifter arm connected to the driven shaft, a lowering arm connected to the drive shaft, said arms moving towards each other at dilferent speeds to contact the lower and upper surfaces of the seat, respectively, and change its posit-ion when the operating lever is actuated in one direction.

8. A seat lifter accessory for installation upon a water closet bowl having a seat hinged thereto for movement from a lowered position to a raised position comprising a housing, a gear train journalled in the housing having a drive shaft and a driven shaft, bracket means carrying said housing so constructed and arranged as to be mounted on a closet bowl, a treadle connected to the drive shaft, a lifter arm connected to the driven shaft, a lowering arm connected to the drive shaft, said arms moving towards each other to contact the lower and upper surfaces of the seat, respectively, and change its position when the treadle is actuated in one direction and moving away from each other under the control of said treadle when moved in the opposite direction.

(References on following page) 7 References Cited in the file of this patent 2,042,276 Revers May 26, 1936 2,251,770 Warner Aug. 5, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,329,240 Bendon et a1 Sept. 14, 1943 1,089,615 Wyman Mar. 10, 1914 5 FOREIGN PATENTS 1434555 6,1915 293,595 Germany Aug. 19, 1916 1,509,242 Kuno Sept. '23, 1924 

